FCS CONFERENCE · 2026 SEASON

NEC

#23 overall#12 in FCSRR50 +8.2Upper strength +11.58 teamsTop 25 teams 0

The weekly grind · 2026

One Bid, One Game

The Northeast Conference is the smallest automatic-qualifier in FCS — eight programs from New Jersey to Maine, competing in markets where football is not the dominant sport.

FCS8 teamsRace: FCS PlayoffLeader: Central Connecticut

NEC · 2026 season

Three things to watch

Wild Card

One Bid, One Game, Winner Take All

The NEC sends one program to the FCS bracket via an automatic bid. That means the conference title game — or even the regular-season standings — is effectively a single-elimination competition for national relevance. Every NEC game in November carries stakes that larger conferences distribute across four or five bracket spots. The NEC format makes every late-season game appointment viewing for fans of these programs.

Conference standings · NEC · 2026

Standings

# Team Conf Overall Pwr Last 5
1Central Connecticut4-05-3+13.1
2Duquesne3-14-4+11.4
3Stonehill3-14-5+8.4
4Long Island University3-13-6+7.9
5Robert Morris2-24-5+7.0
6New Haven1-32-7+4.7
7Mercyhurst0-41-8+5.2
8Wagner0-41-8+2.5

Conference record determines standing. Power = neutral-field pts vs. all-level average. Last 5 = most recent game results.

Projected standings · NEC · 2026

Win projection

Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. Avg = expected wins; W-L = most-likely record.

# Team W-L Pwr Avg ≥7≥6≥5≥4≥3≥2≥1
Favorites
1Central Connecticut5-2+5.64.552353809599✓
2Duquesne4-3+3.94.231643739299✓
Challengers
3Stonehill4-3+0.93.71828578296✓
4Long Island University4-3+0.43.5162350789499
The field
5Robert Morris3-4−0.53.5152149789499
6Mercyhurst3-4−2.33.031235658998
Rebuilding
7New Haven3-4−2.82.921132628798
8Wagner2-5−5.02.61622508096

Conference power · FCS

Where we stand

# Conference Avg power Record Top team
1MVFC
+12.4
0-5South Dakota State
2Big Sky
+10.9
0-1Montana State
3UAC
+10.8
0-1Tarleton State
4Southern
+10.4
—Tennessee Tech
5SWAC
+10.0
—Alabama A&M
6Southland
+9.8
—Stephen F. Austin
7OVC
+9.7
—Gardner-Webb
8Ivy
+9.6
0-2Harvard
9MEAC
+9.4
1-1South Carolina State
10Coastal Athletic
+9.2
1-3UAlbany
11Patriot
+8.8
0-1Lehigh
12NECYou are here
+8.2
—Central Connecticut
13Pioneer
+8.2
1-0St. Thomas (MN)

Round-robin power = strength of schedule-adjusted conference average, points vs. all-level average team. Record = NEC's record vs. that conference across all games this season.

The Northeast Conference is the smallest automatic-qualifier in FCS — eight programs from New Jersey to Maine, competing in markets where football is not the dominant sport.

Conference Snapshot

RR50+8.2
Upper Strength+11.5
Median Power+8.1
Resume Pulse37.1
Avg ATS50.7%
Wins vs Market-0.26
Top-to-Middle Gap5.6
Combined Record24-46

`RR50`, `Upper Strength`, and `Median Power` are shown on the same public power scale as the rest of the site: points on a neutral field versus the average all-level NCAA team. Very small affiliations are gently regressed toward their subdivision baseline so a one-team outlier does not hijack the entire conference board.

NEC Team Board

The league stack, sorted by predictive strength. Power is shown as neutral-field points versus the all-level average team, while resume is shown on a 0-100 season score.

Rank Team Record Power Resume ATS Wins vs Market Recent Form
#153 Central Connecticut 5-3 +13.1 74 4-3 +0.67 4-0 over the last 4 (W6 W7 W8 W9)
#176 Duquesne 4-4 +11.4 50 3-4 +0.29 3-1 over the last 4 (L6 W7 W8 W9)
#212 Stonehill 4-5 +8.4 47 6-3 +0.84 3-1 over the last 4 (W6 L7 W8 W9)
#219 Long Island University 3-6 +7.9 27 4-5 -0.13 3-1 over the last 4 (W5 W6 W7 L8)
#233 Robert Morris 4-5 +7.0 39 5-3 -0.09 1-3 over the last 4 (L6 L7 W8 L9)
#250 Mercyhurst 1-8 +5.2 21 3-5 -1.33 0-4 over the last 4 (L5 L7 L8 L9)
#254 New Haven 2-7 +4.7 27 4-5 -0.65 1-3 over the last 4 (L5 W7 L8 L9)
#265 Wagner 1-8 +2.5 13 4-4 -1.64 0-4 over the last 4 (L6 L7 L8 L9)